I was looking at the liturgical calendar recently. We are in what it says is “Ordinary Time,” this time between Advent and Christmas, and the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Ordinary Time. What an odd thing to call it. As I look around at the world I have to think, this is no ordinary time. In our ever changing and revolving world and the ever-changing events of our lives, how would we begin to say anything is ordinary?

Well, I suppose, unfortunately what has become ordinary is turmoil, distrust, hatred, lying and backstabbing. To me, what should be ordinary is love, togetherness, joyous community and the experience of living on earth as it is in heaven.

In 1940 Franklin Roosevelt was seeking an unprecedented third term as President of the United States. It had never been done before. We were still in depression, war had broken out in Europe and it was clear it would soon become a World War, most likely on two fronts. A major crisis. The country needed continuity of leadership during this time of crisis, but a third term as president had never before been done. How to proceed?

FDR did not want to go to the Democratic Convention and place his name in nomination. He was far too clever and far too much the master politician to do that. But he had a plan.

In the end he prevailed upon his wife Eleanor to speak on his behalf.

What she said to the convention that night and what she reminded them was that “this is no ordinary time.” It is no time to be complacent. We cannot afford that luxury. It is no time to let down our guard and isolate ourselves, but to move forward with the faith to do that which can be done and which must be done.

These times in which we live today are anything but ordinary times.

But I wonder. Was there ever such a thing?

You hear certain people, certain politicians, long for what they call the good old days. Days when they say life was simpler. Many of them long for what they call the status quo, the peaceful. They long for the 1950’s.

But the 1950’s were not so wonderful for everyone. Not so good in the 1950s if you are a minority. Many in the 1950s were living through a time of hate and distrust, a time of Jim Crow and lynchings. Women too were confined to certain roles and if you are gay or lesbian, forget it. You are considered to be suffering from mental illness. This was no ordinary time.

It was also into such a time that Jesus was born into this world. It was into such a time that he came to upset the status quo and proclaim a new order. But he didn’t do it without a cost.

The Christ was born into a time of crisis. The Romans were pitted against the Hebrew people and demonstrated their own brand of Jim Crow.

I can just imagine two Roman soldiers standing on the street corner of Main and Broadway in Jerusalem. One turns to the other and says, “It’s too quiet today. We need someone to start up some mess. But wait, here come two Jews. Let’s provoke them into something so that we can get our daily dose of satisfaction. So I can get some blood on my sword. So I can go home this evening and tell my wife I had a good day.”

Jesus was born into no ordinary time.

And even for Jesus the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were pitted against him. It was no ordinary time. Wherever he went and in whatever he did there were those who were ready to persecute and torment him. As events were to unfold Jesus very earthly world was forever on the brink of falling apart. There was that which needed to be done, but was there the strength to see it through? How was he to continue with his message of love, and peace and inclusion in this hostile and unpredictable world? How was he to continue with the cards of the deck stacked against him?

Jesus did what he would always do. He turned within to that place where he always found the fullness of Spirit/God.

Each time we turn within we find again that perfect love that always awaits our turning to it, recognizing it and affirming its presence in, through, and as our lives, so that our future moments can be filled with hope and possibility. Each time we turn within we know we are called to share this love with each and every person we meet. No matter who they are, they too are Spirit’s creation and they too are deserving of love.

The answer is to always come from the place of unconditional love. That, in a nutshell, is the gospel message. Each moment we live is filled with extraordinary opportunities to share love and comfort with others. Each moment is ours to grow and to learn and experience the fullness of all those things that make our lives truly the experience of living on earth as it is in heaven.

Each time we turn within we encounter an amazing Spirit that welcomes us, comforts us, lifts us up and sets before us wonderful blessings. This is how we get through this and every moment. This is how we become instruments to changing our world, one thought at a time. And this is how, one day, we will understand the true meaning of living on earth on as it is heaven.

“Then the fathersaid to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Luke 15: 31-32)

In the parable Jesus told about the prodigal son we find an amazing ancient story that still speaks so vividly and truthfully to us today. (I refer you to Luke chapter 15 if you wish to read it again in its entirety).

Here we have a story about a young man who decides he wants his inheritance right now, even though his father is still alive, and taking that inheritance he journeys off to experience life not only on his own, but left to his devices. From the very beginning we can see that he has set himself up for disaster. He is going to rely completely on his own abilities, hope that circumstances always move in his favor and take the gifts he has been given through the largesse of his father and throw away that with which his father has blessed him.

So what happens? This young man discovers that he is ill prepared for the world he has encountered. He is unable to use the gifts he has been given wisely and soon finds himself at the very bottom of life’s circumstances. From his life of privilege he is now so low and defeated that at last he begins to understand the lessons his father was seeking to instill in him.

So what does this story teach us for today? I would submit that it teaches us everything about the unconditional love of God waiting to be lived in and through each and every one of us.

I think we each have our “Prodigal Son moments.” Think about it. The amazing and lavishly unconditional loving presence of God is always available to guide, lead, inspire, nurture, support and bless us, but too often we begin to think that we can do it all on our own. Most often this occurs because we get distracted by life and the demands of daily living. Our focus shifts to what needs to be done in that very moment to surmount a challenge and instead of pausing to remember we are supported by loving Spirit, we move into “react mode,” where we respond with a kind of reptilian impulse that all too often just makes our circumstances worse. It’s not that we are bad or faithless people, it’s just that our humanity has at those moments overtaken our better spiritual self. We forget that with whatever is happening in life it is our right thinking, our affirmative faith and our positive actions that are available to us to move us forward co-creating new possibilities with the omnipresent Spirit of God. God is with us to inspire and be the energy and vibration that supports our being and doing, and it is up to us to remember that we can call upon this energy and vibration of Perfect Spirit and return to our place of rightful inheritance.

What this parable of Jesus reminds us is that whenever we choose to return to trusting and calling upon God that Spirit (like the father in the story) rejoices and receives us back. Each and every time. Without recrimination or punishment, but with joy and happiness that again we are celebrating this meaningful relationship. We may make this return to Spirit hundreds of times in a single day and that is wonderful. For each time we remember we are loved and blessed we can celebrate another victory and another homecoming.

I personally take great comfort in knowing that I can always bring my thinking and my awareness back to Spirit/God. I can always with a simple shift of my thinking return to a place of calm assurance that I am being blessed. Even the chaos of daily life becomes a blessed time when we remember we are never walking alone.

Affirmation: I know that through all the chaos life may present I can always return to the presence of Spirit/God right where I am at every moment and feel renewed peace, calm and happiness.

“TrustGodfrom the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen forGod’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; God’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.” (Proverbs 3: 5-12)

“God can only do for you what God can do through you.” (Eric Butterworth, author)

I have a question for you. What are you really hungry for today? Sometimes we get hungry, like for that double chocolate cake with the rich chocolate icing and after two bites we wonder what we could have been thinking. Now, we hurt. Too rich, too heavy.

There are those things that we think will satisfy our hunger pangs and then there are those things that will be truly satisfying. If we are satisfied with what we can do for ourselves we have stopped really growing in faith. If we think that it is through our own cleverness, ability, or charm that our lives will truly have meaning then we are missing out on experiencing so much more of life. If we are satisfied with what we of ourselves can accomplish then I think we have some thinking to do about our life.

God can give us great insight for our lives and as well as insight into how we can make a difference in the world. God wants us to grow beyond that which we think we are capable of accomplishing. God wants to show us a newness of life that can only be experienced in completely trusting what God/Divine Spirit can do through us. The miracles that we experience in our lives are those wondrous things that are beyond what we had previously thought possible. But what we think is possible is so very limiting and unfulfilling. Spirit/God can open our eyes and minds with a consciousness to understand and experience so much more. Theologian Richard Rohr has written, “God needs to catch us by surprise.”

Trusting God to lead us and then being willing to “go there” with God can be a bit scary. Good. It should be, because it is taking us out of our comfort zone. It is taking us out of what has been the routine of the day and I bet, even if that routine has served you up to now, experiencing more of the fruits of God’s Spirit in your life would be welcome. So, good, step out of your comfort zone and see what God has in store for you. Because we are trusting in God we can know we are working with a safety net. Yes, along the way we may stumble, but we will be picked up, dusted off and shown even greater riches of Spirit.

Affirmation: “I delight in the many ways that Spirit/God shows up in my life. It is amazing what a change in focus and thinking can reveal.”

In 1971 John Lennon wrote “Imagine,” a song that expressed his dream of world peace:

“Imagine all the people

Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one.”

The life we desire, and the world we aspire to experience, begins anew when we realize that the presence, power and energy of God shows up for us through our thoughts. In our thinking. Even before the words can be formed our thinking was setting the stage for our experience. In our imagining, our seeing visions, our dreaming of dreams. Here is placed into the fertile soul of mind the seeds of that which we can nurture and begin to see bear fruit. We need to dare to imagine, to visualize and to dream that we may experience. But that planted seed needs nourishment in order for it to grow and show up in our lives in ways that have meaning, have tangible substance and worth. Let our imagining, our visions and our dreams then become our action. Our action in our words, in our smiles, in our embracing of another. Action in our service to others. Let our imagining be one of seeing love and light wherever we may be. Love that heals and encourages. Light that exposes the darkness of negativity and floods that space with a new Truth so that we may be transformed through the energy of the Christ Consciousness. Imagine peace in our community, our country and the world. See it, visualize it and then see and visualize those actions that can bring the dream to reality. Let our action become speaking out when we see injustice, reaching out to comfort those in need, let our action seek to do those things that will be part of a movement to change our world so that the worth and dignity of all people is celebrated and affirmed. All people. There can be no peace until the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of nationality, gender, sexual orientation or faith practice is celebrated as a beautiful expression and path toward a greater realization of the presence of Spirit.

Our imagining begins with what it is we would wish to experience. Affirm that which we would wish to experience – proclaim that which we would wish to experience – and with grateful hearts offer up thanksgiving to God, that Spirit is indeed moving in our lives.

Imagination is powered by faith and followed by positive and intentional action. It is followed by new vision and possibility and it is powered by knowing that God can, will, and does indeed provide all that we need to move forward – with that imagining – to creating a new picture of our lives in vivid colors and textures.

Imagine and believe. Start now if you haven’t already and continue to grow in your vision each and every day. Each little step we may take is actually a mighty leap forward for us all. There is much we need to do under Spirits guidance to change our circumstances and our world, but the good news is we don’t ever need to do it alone. The outcome is not all on our shoulders. The same Spirit that gave us each the dream also gives us what we need to make that dream a reality. Spirit/God is shouldering the weight; it is our vision, our dreams, our faith and our action that can give that dream its direction and it is Spirit giving us the energy to move forward. Instead of waiting for the dream to become a reality before living within that vision how about we endeavor to start living that dream now, in each and every way we can, to move our consciousness toward seeing it come to life.

We have always thought too small, with too much limitation as to what we can do on our own. Celebrate the imagining, the dream, but always leave room for God to make that vision even more wonderful than our limited consciousness could have ever conceived.

Faith is always powered by action and one could even say without action faith is just an idea, not a lifestyle. It needs to be our lifestyle with our every breath and our every thought.

So let our action begin with thanksgiving and gratitude that our dreams are guided now and always by perfect Spirit working in and through each and every one of us. Starting from that centered place of joy we can move ever closer to not just imaging, but experiencing, miracles.

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could everimagineor guess or request in your wildest dreams! God does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, this Spirit deeply and gently within us.” (Ephesians 3: 20-21, The Message)

“Never limit your view of life by any past experience. The possibility of life is inherit within the capacity to imagine that life is, backed by the power (Spirit) to produce this imagery, or Divine Imagination.” (Dr. Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind, page 187)

Affirmation: “What new imaginings can God and I bring to reality today?”

“Faith is built up from belief, acceptance and trust. Whenever anything enters our thought which destroys, in any degree, one of these attitudes, to that extent faith is weakened.” (Ernest Holmes)

Why do we say affirmations of faith and belief? Why, for over nine years now, have I written an affirmation at the end of this column and why do I send out a positive affirmation each morning on Twitter? We say affirmations of faith because they remind us, in a positive and uplifting way, of who we are as God’s precious creation.

But are these words powerful? No, not in and of themselves. We can say these words, and carry around affirmation cards by the bundle, but we have to believe and proclaim that what the message is saying to us is the truth about who we are. They are to remind us that as spiritual beings our humanity has enormous potential and purpose.

Our words alone can’t get us there, but our feelings, experiences, the stirring of our soul and our inner belief become a state of mind that changes us. What affirmations do is get us going in the right direction. They remind us of the truth of who we are as God’s creation. They remind us that as spiritual beings our search for our humanity is a process. Each day we can move closer toward the fullness of our humanity, and our spiritual nature, becoming true and real partners with one another in this marvelous thing that we call life. Our affirmative thinking picks us up when we stumble and it gives us hope that in the darkness of life there is still light waiting for us up ahead.

When Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the bleeding, when he raised Lazarus or the little girl from the dead, he was seeing beyond the appearance of the physical and seeing through to the truth of the spiritual. Jesus saw possibility where it is all too easy for us to see limitation. Limitation is merely an illusion of a fragmented mind, but as we meditate upon, affirm and proclaim that unlimited Spirit moves in and through us, acting as us, we can begin to shatter that illusion of separateness and lack and begin to see the Divine Light of Spirit as the true energy and vibration of all that we are.

Why affirmations, why affirmative thinking? They remind us of who we are as the perfect creation of an unlimited Creator God. They stir up our realization and recognition that the Spirit of God dwells within us and is always available to us to meet our needs at this and every moment.

Affirmation: “I let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart reveal the fullness of God’s presence.”

“The Spirit within me refreshes me daily. I feel myself saturated with the Life Essence Itself; I feel the same Life Essence flowing in me.” (Dr. Ernest Holmes)

So many people tend to think that when we enter into meditation and into the silence that the silence is empty and a void. That it is darkness, that it is without substance or purpose. Nothing could be further from the truth. The silence is not empty, it is filled with Spirit/God. We have sacred substance inside of each of us. We live in the midst of silence even though we probably think that we do not. In between each and every one of your thoughts, there is silence. No matter how fast you may think your mind is spinning, there is a space between each and ever thought you have. In between each and every word you speak, there is silence. Millions of moments of silence make up our day. These periods of beautiful pauses are available for discovery. Discovery of who we truly are and discovery of the presence of Spirit/God who has created us to be magnificent beings.

Because those periods of silence are so little known and experienced by us we miss a great opportunity to experience the fullness of God, deep within us, right where we are at every moment. A divine presence that is the true make up of our own spiritual DNA. When we stop and allow that silence to be elongated, to be stretched out and become a more intentional experience, we are able to absorb more of that beautiful Spiritual presence and truth in our lives. We are able to let millions of thoughts and impulses connect more deeply with our conscious mind and move us to seeing new and exciting possibilities in our lives. Even a few minutes of contemplative silence can make a huge difference. Why settle for a thimble full of Spirit when you can have a bucketful?

Easy to do? Of course not. Not because Spirit is unwilling to speak and make Itself known to us, but because our human minds love to race from one thought to another with lightening fast speed. Nothing wrong with this, we don’t beat ourselves up about it, it is just how we are built. But what I do know is that taking some time to be conscious of our breathing, keeping our focus on the breath in and out, is the beginning to our experiencing the amazing power of Spirit that lives within us. When the mind wanders again, and it will, just bring the focus back to your breathing. I also like to visualize the amazing light of Spirit all around, moving through and around me as I sit quietly. Always returning to the breath, in and out. Another thought arrives, don’t dwell there, just recognize it and let it go, back to the breath. It does get easier, like exercising a new muscle. Do we fail when we allow our minds to fly off into extraneous thinking? Of course not. Again, it is natural. Each time we return our thought to the breath we have actually celebrated an amazing new victory. We will certainly celebrate hundreds of new victories within a single time of meditation.

There are many wonderful techniques for quiet meditation that I like. Mindfulness meditation (as described here) especially helps me to power down from the craziness of life and emerge renewed, empowered and ready for what is next in this wonderful journey of life Spirit has given us.

This is the most pure form of contemplation we can ever experience. The indwelling and all encompassing silence of God being Its fullest self deep inside of us, right where we are. The merging of our humanity with our spiritual self. This divine unity is the seed from which all miracles can soon blossom.

I love the words of Presbyterian minister and author James Finley who has written, “When engaged in contemplation, we rest in God resting in us.”

Affirmation: God invites us to sit with Spirit in the silence and be changed, inspired and renewed. Why would I ever choose to miss that beautiful gift in my life?”

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2: 5)

What is your life looking like today? Does it look the way you would like? Is it at least moving in the direction that you would like? Moving toward the fulfillment of all the things that would bring you happiness, joy and peace?

The thoughts that we have create our present moments and set the stage for our future. Stop for a moment and think about each thought that you have. We know that thoughts create. We know that what we think about creates our next moment. We know that the thoughts we have today will create our tomorrows. It makes the need for our every thought to be very clear and specific and positive. We are called to be mindful of our thinking, for in our thinking we have the seeds of tiny, but powerful prayers. These prayers set the stage for those things we are open to experience and recognize and these tiny prayers are an indication of our outlook on life.

Imagine that each thought you have is like a bean. Positive thoughts are one color, say white, and negative thoughts are another, let’s say red. As you have each thought another bean is dropped in a large clear cylinder container. What do you suppose would be the dominant color of your container at the end of your typical day? Would it be crimson with negative and defeatist thoughts, or would it be white with thoughts of the healing, rejuvenating and uplifting power of God?

The prevailing belief is that if you want to improve the beauty of your home for resale you should renovate your kitchen and curb appeal. If you want to improve the beauty of your life experience how about renovating your thoughts and beliefs? Sounds simple, but it takes practice and persistence. God will help us as we begin with a simple prayer, “Lord, help me to begin to see a more positive, Christ-centered world in which I live. Help me to experience your presence and your grace in each thing I do and to affirm new possibility in all aspects of my life.” When we begin from a place of positive faith and trust, then, no matter what may happen throughout our day, we will be able to know we are in the presence of a powerful God, who loves us unconditionally.

Affirmation: “Today is a great day to release the past and experience a beautiful NOW. I begin by affirming the amazing presence of Spirit/God right here. Around me, through me, and as me at every moment.”

“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you. But ask in faith, never doubting.” (James 1: 5-6)

Our scripture has much to teach us. God gives to each of us willingly, graciously and abundantly whenever we ask. But it also tells us something vitally important about our asking. It must be done in faith, without any reservation or any negativity.

In first reading this text one could think our prayers will be answered right away, that the answers we seek suddenly appear to us and that is that. Most of us know that doesn’t always happen and that our “never doubting faith” comes in to play here to sustain us as we experience God’s reply.

If your prayers don’t seem to be answered as soon as you would like, then what must we do? The answer? Keep the prayer going. Keep connecting with God in a reflective way and know that as you do so you are moving forward in the right direction. We don’t keep praying because we have not yet gotten the attention of God, but because we are seeking to gain greater clarity of the presence of God working and moving through our life. This is major. You don’t want to give up and get off the highway one exit before the destination. We need to keep that connection clear, never doubting. Author Richard Rohr has written so meaningfully that God doles out life and understanding to us in small doses. This is the good news, for too much information all at once would just overwhelm and confuse us. We are all trying to balance our human earthly self with our heavenly spiritual self and that takes time, dedication and perseverance. God will help us, so the journey is not impossible.

It is important to realize that who you are when you finish saying your prayer is a different you from the person you were when you began that prayer. You can’t help but be. You have changed. Not God, but you. You have changed. Your very words, feelings, thoughts and desires lifted up to God have moved you to a new understanding of God’s power acting in your life. You have been altered, transformed, remolded, brought into a new truth and reality of the presence of God always right where you are. You are changed. That is the joy of asking God, never doubting. We have declared our willingness to be changed. Our willingness to experience God in new and exciting ways.

Affirmation: “A heartfelt thank you to God is a powerful sign of belief in answered prayer.”

“I am the Light of the world.” “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” (John 9:5, 10:10)

I know that we all have great ambitions and dreams. I know that I do and I continually pray for, and believe in, the desires I have that they may blossom and manifest into the fullest expression of life I can lead.

What I know and have come to believe through my years of prayer, meditation and contemplation about the presence of Spirit/God in my life is that we are each created to be more than we are currently experiencing. We see ourselves in a microcosm of being, both mentally and physically, but Spirit/God sees us in the fullness of all we have been created to be. I could find this frustrating as I try to be all that I desire to be and yet seem, through my limited physical mindset, to fall short time and time again, or I can know that as I continue in prayer and meditation to connect with Spirit that I am moving, even if it is slowly, toward all that I can be.

As I do my prayer and meditation practice daily I always begin by giving Spirit/God thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for what I have and who I am right now, as well as thanksgiving that I am moving forward to experiencing still more of God’s miracles in and through my experience. When we begin in gratitude and thanksgiving I believe we truly set the stage for God to enter the deepest parts of ourselves and open us to seeing more of what has been a part of us the whole time. Because we only can experience at the current level of our understanding and awareness starting in thanksgiving is a wonderful way for us to open up those inner channels to seeing more clearly, to feeling God’s presence more deeply, and to moving into a new elevated vibration of consciousness. Spirit/God will always reveal to us more of who we are if we are willing to connect and expand in our thinking, believing and vision.

There is a children’s story I love. It’s about some chickens and an Eagle. It seems this baby Eagle feel out of its nest one day and into a chicken coop. The chickens loved the little Eagle and took pity on it, so they raised it to be one of their own. They nurtured and treated the Eagle just as they did all the other little baby chicks. The Eagle started to walk around the chicken coop and copied completely the walk of the chickens. It walked like them, tried to cluck like them, did everything just the same way the chickens did.

Then, one day a full grown Eagle flew overhead and saw the little Eagle in the chicken coop, walking around like a chicken. This intrigued the big Eagle so it flew down and said to the little Eagle, “What’s up dude? Why are you walking around like a chicken? Don’t you know you are an Eagle? You were created to fly, to soar with the clouds, not walk around in a pen all day clucking like a chicken.” And so the big Eagle showed the little Eagle how to fly and soon the little Eagle became the beautiful creature of God he had always been created to be.

Spirit/God created us each to soar and prosper. Too often we have seen ourselves in a limited way when we need to see ourselves with the fullness of all we that we truly are.

Let Spirit/God reveal all that you are. Thank Spirit in advance for doing just that very thing and then know that more of who you are can blossom. As you spread your wings to soar into the heavens of an abundant life a new vision and the real you will emerge. Remember Jesus said, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly.” He came that we might recognize all that we are created to be.

Affirmation: “Each day I grow in the realization of all that I was created to be. Spirit/God is, as always, my guide.”

“Blessed are those who trust is in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17: 7)

I have always loved the above scripture. Throughout my life when I have been waiting for some important occurrence I have stopped to reflect upon these words. They bring comfort and peace to me in the face of uncertainty as I wait upon the Lord for the fulfillment of a dream.

The scripture has two thoughts for me. One, we are to trust IN the Lord, and secondly, that our trust IS the Lord. To experience the new life and grace available to us IN the Lord we most certainly need to connect with all the power and possibility that IS the Lord. It may be a subtle distinction, but one that is so powerful.

We all have times of uncertainty, and maybe even discord, as we seek to make decisions about our lives and our futures. Which choice should we make, what road do we take as we reach that fork in the highway, where will we find that place that will ultimately bring us the most fulfilling outcome?

We will always have decisions to make. We will always have before us a future that is not always crystal clear. Our scripture reminds us that our trust is IN the Lord and that our trust IS the Lord. We can rely on the presence and power of God to direct us in our decision-making and we can do so knowing that God has placed us on an exciting new journey of discovery that will always be for our highest good. Our trust is further multi-faceted for we must seek to understand the gift of God when it is presented to us. Yes, we prayed for a particular outcome and we were probably very specific about that. However, the answer we receive may be somewhat different than we expected and we must seek, in our trusting of the Lord, to recognize our answers to prayers as we receive them.

Example: I remember praying that I would receive a certain position, a job. I really wanted that, I could see it in my mind and I knew I would be good at it. Yes, hopefully in my praying and visualizing that job I would receive it as a reality in my life and it would bring me all that I desire. But what if ultimately that particular job is not the best for me? Suppose God, in infinite wisdom and knowing, understands that I would be miserable in that job and so another job is presented to me? Was my prayer not answered? Well, I suppose one could say yes, and no. No, it was not answered in the way I expected and thought I wanted it to be, but yes in that what I truly wanted was presented in my desiring a position that brought me fulfilling work, wonderful people with whom to work, a pleasant environment, minimal commute and good salary. Get the difference? Yes, the prayer was indeed answered and in a beautiful and exciting way. Recognizing the answers to our prayers, and giving Spirit/God thanksgiving for those answers, is a powerful declaration of our trust, faith and belief in the power of God.

Most often I find that the clearest way to making new decisions and choices is found in entering the silence, that beautiful, wondrous place within where God dwells in all of Spirit’s fullness and glory. From that place of peace God can be revealed to us, through us and as us. Our eyes are opened to new and exciting possibilities and we can move forward with confidence and peace. Our trust IS the Lord now and always.

Affirmation: “I place my trust in the divine presence of the Lord and clarity, peace and right outcomes are revealed.”